Plan Ahead News & Views President's Podium

by Mike Sharp Originally published in News & Views July 2000 issue. Copyright 2000 STC-Philadelphia Metro Chapter. For permission to reprint this article, contact the Managing Editor.

Summer begins in earnest with the arrival of hot weather, not to mention June 21. Many of us are either planning or taking vacations. Others wish they could. It seems that everyone slows down a little and moves into a summer frame of mind. If we're not actually at the shore, we're thinking about it. So let me interrupt your summertime reverie to plant a couple of suggestions, because if you wait until summer's end, it could be too late. Plan to organize a session for next year's annual conference Well-known authorities present sessions at the annual conference, right? Sure. But also, regular technical communicators such as you and I can run or present sessions-and they do so every year. If you have experience in a particular activity, such as web page design, writing online help files, or indexing, you can present what you know about it, including little tricks that you have learned along the way. It's your practical experience that counts. You don't have to be a "power user" to present; many writers with less experience than you have would be interested in the basics. Even if you think you don't have the kind of practical experience that other people would be interested in, you could still organize and chair a panel discussion or a progression. In doing so, you will meet and be able to network with a number of people who are skilled in the activity of your interest. Panel discussions involve from two to four presenters, who talk about a specific aspect of the discussion topic. Depending upon how many you recruit, presenters speak individually from five to fifteen minutes, with time left over at the end for them to take questions. You would line up the presenters and perhaps moderate the session by introducing each of the presenters. Progressions are sessions where from two to four presenters give simultaneous presentations of ten to twenty minutes on their topics, then repeat the presentations once or twice. The meeting room is usually set up with each presenter at a round banquet table. Participants move from table to table, choosing, say, two out of three topics. The catch is that your proposal for a session at next year's meeting is due this August, so you need to be planning it now, as you sip your strawberry daiquiri at the beach club. Plan to enter this year's publications or on-line competition You will be seeing more about the competitions in subsequent issues of News & Views, but now is the time to consider whether to enter this year. Many writers fear that they can't enter a competition because what they write belongs to their employer or client and it's proprietary. Given that the foregoing is true, you still could enter if you work with your employer or client to assure that really sensitive data is not included in your submission. Many companies enjoy the prestige of entering and possibly winning a competition such as ours. However, it won't happen unless you start the ball rolling by asking. And, now is the time to ask, so that you will have time to prepare your submissions before the deadline in October. So why bother to enter the competition, anyway? The obvious reason is that you could win an award, which is powerful validation of your skills in technical communication. Also, you get the benefits of a careful peer review of your submission. Whether or not you win an award, you can learn much from studying these comments. It takes time to secure permissions, prepare submission copies, and package your entry for shipment. By starting now, you can give yourself some extra margin for the inevitable contingencies that arise. Both planning a session for next year's conference and submitting an entry for a competition are STC activities that can contribute solidly to your knowledge and professional growth. I encourage you to start now so that you can avoid any last-minute rush.

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Last updated: October 10, 2000 (mvh)